Degrees In Business Blog

The Wall Street Journal offers an informative blog known as The Independent Street. This blog focuses specifically on small businesses and is a great asset to the entrepreneur.

Beyond those trying to establish their own business, The Independent Street focuses on the trends in the small business market to help business majors understand the fluctuation of the market. Approximately 75% of new jobs offered to business graduates every year are from small businesses (500 or less employees).

Every Friday, The Independent Street gathers together news in the industry in the form of “Friday Memos.” This week’s memos, as an example:

- Main Street businesses still aren’t hiring. Last month, small businesses shed more than four times as many employees as larger businesses did, according to payroll processor ADP. [CNNMoney.com]

- As small-business owners try to cut travel costs, they’re increasingly looking to Web conferencing. Fuze, Zoho Meeting and GoToMeeting are some of the best options available, with prices ranging from $12 per month to $50 per month. [Inc. magazine]

- Some small-business employers fear the possibility of a mandate in health care reform proposals that employers must pay for insurance. They’re concerned even as some of them may be eligible to get federal money to cover the costs of providing insurance. The National Federation of Independent Businesses says that such a mandate would force businesses to cut 1.6 million jobs over five years. [Kaiser Health News]

Small businesses are normally not as prone to “shedding employees” as large businesses during a recession, making this an unusual and important highlight. The healthcare-for-all-businesses issue is complimented by the The Small Business Health Options Program and has been a back-and-forth debate over whether it will improve or deter from the job market. The healthcare industry is the currently the industry experiencing the largest growth, however, so any discussions on this should be followed with a close eye.

This is only one facet of understanding your business education, albeit an important one. Familiarize yourself with the market so that you can get the most out of your education in the future!